everything i ate in palm beach gardens
food and reflections from my stay in florida
Curious about the way other people cook and eat, (with permission) I love rummaging around other people’s kitchens, trying their snacks, gawking at their tools and appliances, and eating how they eat.
For a week in March, I escaped the chill of NYC and stayed with my friend’s beautiful home in Palm Beach Gardens (let’s call her “M”). I’m extremely thankful to have such a generous and welcoming friend. Both her and her husband have demanding jobs, and their lives revolve around their young daughter.
For context, Palm Beach Gardens is a city in south east Florida, 80 miles north of Miami and 15 minutes from West Palm Beach. It’s well known for its golf courses and beaches.
M is my work wife from my previous job. She used to live in NJ and commute to NYC, so most of our shared mealtimes have been limited to catered office lunches, happy hour drinks, or dinner with large groups at restaurants. M’s home is a new environment to experience food.
Her daughter B is three years old. Though she doesn’t know it, she gets the best of everything. All organic fruit, snacks, and meals. Her parents are set on starting her off with good eating habits, a balanced and diverse diet, and a healthy mindset towards food. They haven’t introduced her to candy or heavily processed foods like chips (yet). B is still figuring herself out…right now her favourite foods right now are berries, noodles, goldfish, cookies.
Each morning, her dad wakes up at the crack of dawn to cook her a nutritious breakfast and pack a hot lunch. On Tuesday, she’s got steamed sweet potato, turkey sausage, and strawberries on the side, while the other kids are eating slices of Kraft cheese and crackers. M mentioned that a teacher had commented on how lucky B was to have a hot lunch daily. M enjoys mealtime but doesn’t care for cooking and M’s husband is too tired to cook when he gets home from work, so prefers to buy something for lunch and dinner.
Their pantry is a reflection of how they eat, mostly dedicated to B’s snacks and a few Chinese cooking essentials.