The Fruit Bowl

Just because I find it interesting, here is what's in our fruit bowl this week:

Pineapple
This is a staple at the supermarket, not a specialty item like in the mid-west. I usually buy them for >$1, I buy 2 at a time, a ripe one and one to ripen.

Mangos
So far, I'm the biggest fan, H likes them too and whether or not they know it, D & M eat them in smoothies. This is a new fruit to everyone but me.

Pears
I bought these for a change, because I'm sick of slicing apples. Also, the kids take a snack to school and I thought they'd be good for that. If I leave them on the counter for more than 2 days they get overripe, so I usually keep them in the fridge and ripen 1 or 2 at a time. Unlike US fruit, things here are not waxed, so they seem dull compared to home, but they taste just as good.

Peaches
Peaches are very popular here. In fact, we have a peach tree in our yard. Baby H absolutely loves them. M eats almost any fruit and even D likes them. They are very, very fresh. The only problem with buying them is the grocery stores aren't very good about sorting out bad ones, so you have to take your time (unlikely shopping with 3 kids) and choose only the unblemished ones.

Bananas
There are 2 common types of bananas here. The ones we like are called Banana Prata. They are the little ones I mentioned in a previous post. They are more expensive, but so worth it. Actually, by the time you convert the currency and the kg to lbs, they are probably near 50 cents a pound, which is pretty standard in the US. It's easy to eat 2 or more at a time. We buy a bunch every 2 or so days. I would never buy bananas so yellow/brown in the US, but here they are just perfect. The ones in this picture are pretty yellow, but usually have more brown. I have never ever seen even partially green bananas here.

Limes
We go through a lot of limes. Good thing they are really cheap. (Lemons, on the other hand, are rare and expensive.) "The way" they drink Coke here (that would be DaddyHealy's Mountain Dew substitute) is with ice and a slice of lime. He drinks it that way every day. We've also started making homemade limeade. Not usually one for sugary drinks, my kids are pretty excited. But, it's part of our Brazil experience. How can I resist?