We arrived in Prague on a Sunday after spending nearly 36 hours on planes or in airports, so we were fighting to just stay awake until it was time to go to bed. With this in mind we weren’t mentally capable of really doing any grocery shopping that would be productive for the week. So today (Monday), we ventured out to the closest Lidl (a grocery store chain found all over Europe and a few places is the States), an easy 15 minute walk from our Airbnb.

Now I’ve been to foreign grocery stores before, but never where I had zero grasp on the language, so this was a true adventure for me. Luckily, as we were picking out deli meat for our lunches and fresh meat for our dinners, the packages kindly had pictures of what the meat was (cow, pig, turkey, duck, etc.). This was a life saver as their ham deli meat was not the gross unnatural pink color typically associated with ham in the States. For Tim’s lunches we got Salami, a Chorizo like Salami, sliced Ham, and some type of white sliced cheese, I collected sliced turkey and a blue cheese. We also got fresh tomatoes and the best mustard I’ve ever had (it was like typical yellow mustard you get in the States, but fresh tasting and with whole mustard seeds) for our sandwiches, along with whole grain bread.

Next we headed to the fresh meat section, where we found Tuna, Duck Breast, and Organic Ground Beef. There were a lot of selections of different types of meat, but since I was winging it with the menu for the week I went with basic things I could cook with the minimum needed ingredients. Again, all the meat had pictures of animals, so no accidental purchases of pork for me!

We also collected 2 liters of milk, some Strawberry whey protein powder (I will definitely have to find vegan protein powder soon for the sake of my poor tummy), little yellow potatoes, an eggplant, fresh paprika peppers, zucchini, red onions, garlic gnocchi, chips, coffee, organic extra virgin olive oil, and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Our Airbnb came equipped with salt, pepper, some dried pasta noodles, and balsamic vinegar, so I at least didn’t have to buy any seasonings this trip. So how much did we spend for our startup of groceries? $110 USD, not bad considering all the stuff we purchased. This weekend we will be visiting a market or two to find some fresh groceries!

So what will I be cooking this week?

Monday – Seared Tuna with a Balsamic Reduction with Sautéed Potatoes & Zucchini

Tuesday – Duck Breast, with potatoes roasted in duck fat

Wednesday – Gnocchi in a white garlic cream sauce

Thursday – Pasta with a meat sauce (I forgot the pasta sauce so back to the store I will go later)

Friday – TBD