The Grazer Goes International

First of all, I must apologıze for my recent and sudden hiatus, but please allow me to explain. On June 22, I decided to pick up and do some international grazıng. I started off in Israel, which turned out to be an entire country of grazing. I was able to eat a small omelet with low-fat yogurt or a fresh cucumber and tomato salad for breakfast, lunch or dınner. My meals were always accompanied by some form of whole-grain bread. And the hummus! At first I wondered if I'd get sick of hummus at every meal, but soon I started craving it. Always thick with that home-made touch; I'm not sure I can go back to the supermarket variety when I return to the states. No matter where I ate - a backpackers rest-stop, a smoothie stand (they're everywhere), or a fancy restaurant - the produce was always fresh and tasty.In particular, I recommend Cafe Lala for dinner on Tel Aviv's spectacularly soft, white-sanded beach. Make sure you get there just as the sun goes down. The restaurant itself has a breathtaking appeal: tables and chairs - clothed only in pure white - sit directly on the sand, each with an antique glowing lamp. If you're lucky (like I was), you could catch them on a night when they host a launch party for a new wine from Golan's Yarden winery, and you'll get free glasses all night long.
For the best and healthiest grazing, try Fresh Kitchen on Ben Yehuda Avenue. This quaint cafe attached to a modern gym offers a huge variety of sandwiches and, my favorite, salads with lots of fresh vegetables and grains, topped with avocado, hard-boiled eggs, tuna or chicken if you so please. The menu even boasts the nutritional information for each meal. If you still have some room, try an organic tea blend (I liked the green tea) or a fruit smoothie.After wrapping up my two weeks in Israel, I moved on to Turkey. So far, I feel that the cuisine here leaves much to be desired. When I heard that mezze was the thing here, I imagined myself doing a lot of grazing, but unfortunately the food just hasn't ımpressed me. The vegetable mezze always has the vinegary taste of overly marinated food. Salads are usually small and too simple - just lettuce and tomatoes wıth some olive oil and too much vinegar. The kebabs are just okay. The fish comes out whole, so be prepared to fıllet. I suppose that such a preparation makes it appear fresh, but often the taste is a bit fishy.
Perhaps the best grazing comes in the form of Turkey's street food. If you can find a street fair, walk around and sample fresh fruit from as many stands as you please. Or, after visiting a mosque or palace, grab some grilled corn from a street vendor - ıt's always fresh and piping hot.

Israel:

Turkey:

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In response to a comment on my last post (Vıllage Natural): thank you for the compliment! I'd love to hear more. Please contact me directly: my email information is listed under my complete profile.