For the last few months, i have been acutely aware that overseas travel and everyday eating can leave one obese and puffy in the face(depending on where you are), pimples etc.... In australia, food tends to be rich in starch and sugar. In the americas, food tend to be more healthy than australia and if you watch what you eat, its not so bad but american food(i find) tend to contain the unhealthy stuff like high corn frutose syrup and sodium. In asia, servings tend to be smaller but can be oily or fried.

In australia, fruits offering tend to be similar like rock melon, honey dew, watermelon, occasional pineapple but rarely oranges(cut). Salads can sometimes contain the unhealthy stuff like unhealthy cheese and rich dressings.

Im interested what are the common fruit offerings in the countries you visit and what are the hidden unhealthy stuff in foods in the places you frequent.

Im sure this would help those of us keen to avoid obesity or reduce it and in these depressing economic times, sometimes the healthy stuff can be cheaper.

Please continue this discussion in the DiningBuzz forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

Back in the 80's when i was in the Navy and traveling in the Mediterranean, we would get blood oranges from Italy/Sicily; and Israel.

They are very good and I love them. Now they are grown here in the states, but I would think only limited amounts. Once in a very blue moon I find them in the store and pick some up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_orange

I like to get bananas when I'l out of the country. Not pounds of them, but just a couple. I find most bananas here fairly bland (east coast, told it's totally different in other parts), but when in places like Europe they are bursting with flavor.

Southern Italy has wonderful stone fruits when they are in season, and the blood oranges from there would have been on my list too.

No matter where you are, avoiding obesity comes down to the simple fact you need to know what you are eating. You may think a meat stew is a great choice, until you find out it's in a full fat cream and wine sauce made with really fatty meat, etc. That is not country dependent, it can happen anywhere.

I notice them frequently in Whole Foods, especially the larger facilities.

You have to eat them before returning to the US. We got dinged returning with an apple from the LHR lounge that we forgot about. Oops.

trekkie, as someone also living here, I can only say that I'm careful to not pack any fruit in a bag that I don't eat during the flight.

I've probably had to munch away on fruit to avoid Customs trouble in every Aussie city I've visited. I received a very stern warning for packing a NZ apple once into SYD.

ok, i guess fruit offerings tend to be limited.

I dislike most fruit, so a non-issue for me. I've never carried a piece of fresh fruit anywhere with me in my travels.

Fruits are healthy food i think...

My sisters loved the mangosteens when we visited Thailand. They say that mangosteens are hard to find here in the states. I don't think they're anything special.

When I visit Asia, especially Hong Kong and China, I like to buy pomelos, where they're widely available. They're also called Chinese grapefruit. Some people don't like the taste, or lack of, or the work involved to peel the rind and sectional membranes, but I really like them. They're not exactly rare in the US, some supermarkets carry only a few, due to their lack of popularity. Most US supermarkets carry a slightly different variety that's more sour and I don't like as much. (odd thing is that the US grows 3 times as many pomelos as China...so where do they end up in the US?)

I read somewhere that a section of pomelo has as much vitamin C as an entire orange.

The other differences seem to be that the sweeter ones are somewhat larger and more expensive. The less sweet ones run around $2 per fruit while the sweeter ones are $2/lb in parts of the US. I prefer the less sweet variety as they have a nice bite without being as sour as grapefruit.

In Thailand I love fresh rambutan, mangosteens, longons, jack fruit and chilled dragon fruit. The papayas and mangoes ain't bad, either. As for mangosteen availability in the US, they've only been available in the US since 2007 thanks to an irradiation process that eliminates the fruit fly problem.

I almost always eat a big bowl of fruits for breakfast when travelling. Almost all English hotels offer cut oranges and grapefruits for breakfast, and I find the same with most hotels in continental Europe as well. I do miss those while in Australia though - not enough citrus fruits at hotel breakfasts.

Also I try and buy some fruits that are in season. I am particularly fond of big white peaches you can get in warmer parts of Europe in season.