Traveling to Panama and Getting my Sugar Fix On

Sweets galore!

I am quite notorious for my sweet tooth. When I was pregnant five years ago, many thought I would not be able to give up sweets, but indeed I did. I was highly motivated to do so by my superstition-filled upbringing that had inculcated in me the belief that if I wanted a boy (which I did) I had to not eat anything sweet. And, a boy I got! However, my love of sweets still runs through my veins. That love is so deeply ingrained coursing wildly through my veins that I have written an ode to cherryheads and my mom’s fondness of honey buns, as well as an overall ode to sugar. You can always count on the fact that I will have sugar on my mind.

However, I have been mightily trying again to cut back on my sugars. I no longer have four boxes of cherry heads in a day. Nor do I have four bottles of Coke zero in a day. Now I just have three at most. Harm reduction! I am taking a lesson from my son. He doesn’t care for sweets. His distaste of sweets runs so grand that his teacher once called me in to discuss it. I have no idea why he does not like sweets. Everyone on my side of the family could just live off of sweets on a daily basis. While face-wise he is like me, palette-wise he is a bit different. I suppose that is a part of his individuation process. As any other kid, he also dislikes most cuisines that don’t entail pizza. While he is a very well-traveled five year old, eating abroad has always been interesting experience for him. He did love using chopsticks in Japan. We also discovered many pancake houses in Japan that were to his liking. In Italy had a grand pizza feast every day. He even tried and liked the gelato which warmed my heart to no end. Finally we had a sweet in common.

This morning, I am hurriedly trying to finish packing for my flight to Panama later in the day. I am finally going on a long over-due vacation. As I am getting my backpack ready, I have realized I have not done my usual due diligence on researching my vacation trip beforehand. I usually pour through countless websites and learn the city street maps. This time, I have been so desperately busy at work, I have not had the luxury to prepare for my vacation. I did a quick search of top things to know about Panama and it got me thinking about the cuisine and its cocktails. Those being two very important things for me on any given trip.

Apparently coconut rice (rice made with coconut milk) and fried green plantains (are very popular. The fried green plantains I get as those are very popular in Puerto Rico as well. I prefer the fired yellow banana as those tend to be sweeter than the green ones, which tend to be on the saltier side of the taste palette. Coconut rice being popular in Panama surprises me. I am very curious now as to the origin of this dish there in Panama. Sounds sweet to me and thus I believe I will be consuming that come tomorrow at some point. Furthermore, there seems to be a breakfast staple called Hojaldras– which are donuts sprinkled with sugar. Seems odd to me that one has to specify that the donuts are sprinkled with sugar. Aren’t they just one ball of sugar? I am looking forward to the Raspados – which is basically ice topped with sweet syrup and condensed milk. In the South Bronx in New York City we would call those piraguas. There is even a cocktail drink made from sugar cane and often served with milk and ice. I am not keen on alcohol with dairy, but I may have to take a sip in order to make sure I immerse myself fully in the local culture. Ah, sugar!

It seems that I can get my sugar fix taken care of while on travel in Panama. This is a good thing since I tend to walk for hours on end during my vacations and will need some fuel as a result. I just won’t tell my doctor that I may be taking a break from my self-imposed low carb diet. When in Panama….

Inspired by my palette and the daily prompt

Other daily prompt thoughts:

Junk of Life