apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

are those gooseberries in the top right of that photo!?!? where does one find fresh gooseberries?????

Before I leave for vacation, I tend to clear the house of perishable foods. Coming home to rotten produce is really depressing. Traveling is draining and that last thing I want to do when I get home is grocery shop. Therefore, the first meal I make is usually simple and comprised of freezer and pantry staples (and depending on the time of year a few fresh herbs from the garden).

This recipe for white fish (I usually keep a couple of fillets in the freezer) with peas and potatoes is simple, light, and tasty:
http://accordingtolia.blogspot.com/2009/05/white-fish-with-peas-and-potatoes.html

I joked the other day that my re-coop food was "Jesus light." Whole wheat rustic bread and white wine...plus cherries, bluberries or mango of course.

I just talked about this with friends over the weekend - the very first thing that I eat when I come back from vacation is always Chinese food from my favorite local restaurant. And a Diet Snapple because you would be shocked at how hard that is to find when I travel.

If I was going to cook something at home, it would probably be pasta w/broccoli & mushrooms.

In the winter, I usually make veggie chilli. In the summer, a chickpea salad. Both use mostly ingredients that don't go bad while I'm gone. As a vegetarian traveler, I often don't eat as much protein when I travel as I normally do at home, and I often come home craving it.

(Think veggie sides in the midwest or great roasted veggies all over - the main protein I get offered when I travel is eggs for breakfast).

I ALWAYS want spinach after traveling -- cooked, and often by itself. If I cook anything else it is pasta and/or a lean protein; a poached egg works well.

I'm always desperate for decent Mexican food after traveling. Australia & Eastern Europe are officially the worst countries to find Mexican food in. (oddly, Greece has some pretty decent Mexican restaurants!)

if i am coming back from Asia (anywhere) I want McDonald's and then I only eat salad for a week to recover from that and all the other unhealthy goodies I indulged in while in Asia.

Basically it depends on what I was having while I was traveling and then I want the opposite when I get home.

After a long vacation filled with rich and delicious food, I usually like to eat rice and kimchi, all rolled up in seaweed! A plus is that it's minimal prep, and I don't need to go grocery shopping right away after a long trip- I usually have those items stocked in my kitchen.

Depending on the where the vacation is and the level of indulgence, I typically go on a month long vegetarian diet. That and Chinese and Japanese foods since I usually travel to places where the Asian food isn't as good as back home.

I eat whatever's in the house. Often, it's eggs and rice or eggs and pasta. I don't eat much differently than when I've been home, actually.

Unless I'm getting back from a family holiday, in which case I eat salad, wheat toast, veggies and other simple, non-greasy things. I love family holidays but gluttony is definitely the name of the game.

Immediately after I get back, I usually eat delivery pizza. I know, I know. But I never feel like cooking and there's never anything in the house. :) The next day, after shopping, I eat super healthy for about a week, and I cook a lot... I miss cooking and never feel the same mental or physical health if I eat out every meal for an extended time.

Like most others, it's a combination of salads, lots of vegetables and protein in the form of grilled or poached chicken or fish and most importantly, little to no alcohol (admittedly this is the hardest part since those habits tend to stick rather quickly). I always seem to miss cooking when I am away so enjoy getting back into the kitchen is a joy as it relaxes me. Oftentimes I am inspired by my travels to cook up something tasty and reminiscent of where I've been.

Pasta with homemade sauce and meatballs (there's usually a batch in the freezer)! Then, if the food was great where we were, I'll spend the week trying to recreate the food we enjoyed while we were away, especially including some nice beverages as well. It helps to extend the vacation a bit longer!

After vacation I'm so zapped. I want nourishing foods - usually a lot of greens, minimal cooking, minimal processing. Right now it's cherries, salad, a couple slices of raw cheese, crackers, and/or oatmeal. I always want to detox and relax from my trip!

I pretty much always want salad when I come home from traveling. Arugula, toasted pine nuts, and whatever other green stuff is in season. Though the first night back, sashimi and seaweed salad are my favorites!

When we came back from 4th of July we had a nice chopped salad with mostly pantry ingredients and some lettuce we picked up on the way home. Black beans, frozen corn, chopped cucumber, avocado etc.
It's a great light meal and most of those things are in the house anyway.

I always end up eating whats at the house which is usually snack foods or I'll make some Campbell's soup.

OK, I'm glad I'm not the only heathen who was thinking, "jeez... we're usually so tired that we just pick up a pizza". Thanks ejbrammer! (we also reach for the eggs, but I typically don't have anything fresh in the house to go w/it)

seeing as my last trip was to london... we ordered a pizza on the cab back from jfk. i seem to eat less on vacation-- and when that trip destination involves london, even less! :P

big, fresh salads -- when i'm home, i have one at least once a day, and i always crave them when i'm away.

This sound horrible, but whenever I come back from Europe the first thing I have is a McDonald's cheeseburger and fry! Other than that, always Mexican, because I miss it when I'm gone from Texas.

Fresh fruit and vegetables. I always feel like most of the food I eat when traveling is cooked restaurant food, and by the time I get home I'm craving something simpler.

We usually end up eating out while on vacation, so we usually need to detox. Lots of simple, grilled veg and water, maybe some fish. Also the in laws don't do anything "ethnic" so Thai is on the list when we get home. Simple pasta dishes with whatever is on hand is always the way to go.

dinnerandaprozac.blogspot.com

I always want fresh produce. I feel like whenever I go on vacation I definitely indulge in eating while I'm gone and I feel like I tend to skimp on the good stuff. After my last trip I snacked on raw veggies with greek yogurt mixed with ranch powder and a few crackers with cheese. Light and simple!

I shamefully admit that my first dinner back from a trip is always take away of some sort because I am always exhausted. And its usually unhealthy- like burgers or something.

I just came back from an extended vacationing jag. last night at 2am upon returning home: grilled cheese. I'm a vegetarian, so I've been eating a lot of cheesy bready things while in strange places. Tonight its sweet potato tacos with black bean, roasted corn and cucumber salad. I want something light and dairy free!