i am starting a new thread , cuz this info. came up a few times recently with other topics, which might not be found in a search by potential expats to uruguay. I have lived in URuguay for almost 2 years now, have been a vegetarian for over 40 years, vegan for a year, and gluten free for 4 years. WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE I WAS WORRIED I WOULDNT BE ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING TO EAT! To my pleasant surprise, this country abounds in resources for special diets. ( NOT necessarily restaurants, and convenience foods, but there are plenty of raw materials for constructing your own ). I mentioned in another thread that here in Minas ( 2 hours from MV ) we have several gluten free bakeries/health food stores. There was a contingency of doctors from Pakistan, up to 6, assigned to the hospital here, recently trained in Cuba, down to 4 now i believe, and they were some of the "new blood" who informed a lot of the older patients, who were having a contact dermatitis , that it could be from touching and breathing wheat ( lots of pasta making in these parts ). The other common symptoms of sensitivity to the gluten in wheat are stomach ailments, severe arthritis, and breathing problems, like asthma - all of which are hard to not blame on the dampness and molds/mildews here. The reason i bring all that up is that, even out in the "sticks' ,what could appear to be city/trendy, is available .
The general rule of IF IT HAS TO BE IMPORTED, YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR IT, really applies to gluten free foods. Yes, the grocery store has them, but they are pricey. Several local companies make rice cakes , and Blue Patna Co. has rice, and rice noodles also ( but they have eggs in them ) . Other Uruguayan companies make mandioca/tapioca, flour, potato , linseed/flaxseed, and rice flours. Anonther Uruguayan company makes organic coconut flour. Flour to make Faina, which is a flat garbanzo bread popular here ( sold by most pizza parlors ) is everywhere ( the faina in pizza parlors HAS WHEAT FLOUR MIXED IN - so if you are severely reactive to wheat you are going to want to make your own at home ) the grocery stores sell rice wrappers to make spring rolls, and rice noodles from thailand, that do not have eggs in them. Bigger cities have more options, i am sure. the prices for the above are about half what is charged at stores in u.s. like whole foods, sprouts, etc . - i just returned from u.s. and so i had a recent price comparison.
for vegetarians who eat cheese, the Colonia region, with a town called new switzerland ( cant remember the spanish spelling ) make low cost , "homemade", artisanal cheeses. People all over the country sell these cheeses in the stores and at the ferias. the stores all have lots of different kinds of yogurts, including dulce de leche flavored. local beer and wines are amazingly good.
Dried beans are plentiful. My fav is the white lima called Manteca ( butter ). there are local black, red, and a pinto-ish one called fruitilla ( strawberry ). Many restaurants have lentils ( lentijes ) but they add beef or pork stock. yellow lentils/dals are easily found here, also.
there is a delightful local pecan, and other low cost nuts/seeds are sesame ( sesamo ), sunflower ( girasol ), and peanuts ( mani ) - all easy to make your own nut milks with. there are hazelnuts, and almonds, the later being good, but pricey with the former being pricey and always too dry ( imported from chile and brazil, and the hazelnuts suffer from the travels, i think ) . The big local company for nuts/ grains is La Abundancia. Quinoa is in a lot of stores, as it is a south American product, as are chia seeds.
Fruits and vegetables, out in the country, are hard to get organic. there is an organic feria in punta del este, and some growers out of the cities will post signs that they grow organically. It is super easy to get plant starts here , though, and grow your own tomatoes, etc. If you like hot foods, probably consider growing peppers, as , other than tabasco, spicey sauces arent happenin' here - uruguayans dont do spicey. the local fruits and vegetables are inexpenisve and were picked recently, - NOT shipped and sitting on the shelves for WEEKS, like in the u.s. Two local pastas, for those who can eat wheat, that are veggie are the pumpkin stuffed raviolis, and the acelga ( a cousin of chard ) - just dont do what i did, i forgot to ask if the tomato sauce on top was also NO CARNE , and they came smothered with a pork based tomato sauce.
Local honey ( miel ) and bee pollen are available at the bigger fruit stands. Seeds for sprouting such as alfalfa take only a few days to grow, in the warm, damp, summertime.
At the feria ( farm market ) locals tend to sell herbs that they have picked. i bought a HUGE bunch of laurel leaves for 50 pesos ( $1.60 ) and leaves for teas are sold as well. the pharmacies all sell herbs , too, as well as local remedies like piedras de Alzufre ( sulfur chalk for rubbing on arthritic parts, like msm ) In the autumn local mushrooms are sold ( which i am too chicken to try, but freinds of mine have and say they are great tasting ) .
well, this is getting too long, so if you have any questions about specific products, please fill free to p.m. me. ( i will answer if i know, and ask some city friends, if i dont ) Just about any product IS available , for the high price, in the city. I was just wanting to talk about what kinds of things the person who is not in Montevideo or Punta del Este can get their hands on!
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