Privilege afforded by gender identity, skin color, age, nationality, income, religion and a host of other things is often very hard to identify, at least for the recipient of said benefits. When society gives us an advantage that others do not have it can be quite invisible to us.
The privilege that became evident to me this week that I am without is ingredients. Many delicious plant-based recipes show up on my Instagram feed but when I look closer, I can’t get the ingredients! No vegan butter, cornstarch, molasses and a slew of other things. Yes, yes, I realize that I can fiddle and probably come up with a passable facsimile, but more and more, I roll my eyes and just give up.
I think the thing that annoys me the most is the blasé attitude of the internet chef espousing the simplicity of the recipe, as if we all had Whole Foods next store.
When we lived in Austin, there was a large high-end grocery store an easy walk away. I could be making any recipe and hop on over for a missing ingredient. No food desert in my neighborhood.
Here in the Mexican wilds we are getting a larger variety of options than were available in years gone by. What you can’t find in the supermercado can often be ordered online. I have a friend who has the right attitude, IMHO, “If you can’t find it, you don’t need it.” I think that having a simpler life is really the privilege we might all aspire to.
DOS TORTAS
the adventures of dos tortas 
I love this post and the message behind it. When living in Belize and Mexico, we ate what we could find there, we cooked with ingredients we could find there, and unlike many expats we knew, we tried really hard not to complain and whine about certain things not being available at all or at far too high a cost to be an option. We weren’t perfect on that, but we really did try. When in Rome and all that….
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On occasion we have gotten folks to “mule” items down for us. Not complaining is our first and last names. 😂
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That has been our attitude since we got here. We like to go “hunting” for things in our Progreso markets, and we do have Merida nearby. I am one of the few who do NOT order everything on Amazon. We like to shop as the crazy lay outs of the stores force you to go up and down isles you would not travel in the States. You can find all kinds of stuff you thought did not exist here, and other things that are new to you, but worth a try.
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Our experience is also that when we find some treasure (tahini, vegan mayo), we buy a bunch. In a week it may be completely gone, never to be seen again!
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Do you ever come to Bacalar?
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Celebrity chefs, don’t you just love em? They think we keep all manner of exotic ingredients in the larder. In Turkey we made do with what was in season and we’ve carried that tradition on.
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True that! 😆 Simple is my style.
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Simpler is definitely better. There are good things to be said for being vegan, but there are also good things to be said for using what is nearby.
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I think vegan is very hard for some people. Plant based is the way to go. We’re trying to grow some things. Jungle is way harder than I expected.
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Plant based is good. Overall, I eat little meat. I do love fish. But I eat what is put before me and make no special requests of anyone.
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I admire your choice. I just can’t eat animals. 🐄
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I don’t blame you, and I admire that. I’ve been vegetarian off and on, but I can’t seem to stick with it very well. I imagine you are healthier than I am because of your diet.
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I’ve used some inspirational books to keep me on track.
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So true. When my husband and I lived in Kenya, we had to learn to improvise on many recipes. Our meals were based on what the local grocer had on the shelf that particular day. Fresh vegetables were plentiful on market day. We never starved and actually ate more healthy due to no pesticides or additives added.
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We buy produce from small Mayan farmers, never from the Mennonite’s who spray everything w pesticides.
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