Food and groceries in Mexico?

Question

I am a vegetarian(Not even fish or chicken even eggs) and love spicy food with vegetables.. will i be able to work a way out in the restaurants.... Will I be able to buy Indian(Asia) type spices, cereals ...groceries... and manage thru cooking myself?

Answer 1

Most definitely yes.

Especiall if you're cooking yourself, there are lots of spices, veggies, etc to choose from.

Hit the markets (mercados) and not the supermarkets for more variety, freshness and interesting foods.

Nowadays there are more health stores catering to vegetarians and vegans.

As for restaurants, ask first. Many use chicken stock or beef stock for soups and the such.

Answer 2

For shopping, I know it's pretty easy to find the spices I'm used to in Merida.  I suspect that it would be the same in most larger cities. There's a good selection at the wal-mart as well as another grocery store called Mega. I haven't gotten tired yet of eating all the great food from Mexico/Yucatan so I haven't actually looked for Indian spices so I'm not sure that you'll find a wide selection there. Considering the size and weight that most people would need for spices I would suggest that just bring some of the more exotic ones in your suitcase.

For Cereals, there seems to be a pretty good selection there although there seems to be more of the sugary kids cereals that I'm used too. But you can find some that are more health/adult focused. Milk in many places is not fresh but rather in tetra-paks so that might take getting used to. I think the brand name Lala light is pretty good but I can get fresh milk at the wal-mart so I try to do that. Alternately you can always use yogurt on your cereal, yogurt is very common.

I'm not so sure about restaurants so I'll leave that for someone else.

Answer 3

well theres also vegetarian ppl in mex and they dont starve so yes ull have options in the restaurants. and yes there r also asian food restaurants and in the supermarket ull find all the spieces u want

Answer 4

depends where in Mexico you are. The big cities should not be a problem.  I live in a mid size international town and INDIAN spices are hard to find.  Best Indian spices I have found in the SEATTLE/Vancouver area. /SFO/LA/San Diego.

In the big US cities out of the phone book. get all your curry before going to Mexico.

Answer 5

In the open air markets every type of food it seems is available. Vegetables, as long as you are familiar with what is what, will not be a problem. I say this as when I poke around some of them I see things that puzzle me. What is it and how would one go about preparing it.

As far as Indian spices in Particular - Maybe a bit of a stretch. All depends on the size of the city and hence its market. Here in Acapulco the big central market would be the only place that may have them and if not then they just arnt here. Each town has a grand , central market area - usually a family and their good's - if not available , good luck.

Here again in Acapulco I also can get every single thing , just about, that I am familiar with from the states - all the way to Frosted Flakes and Oreos.

It all is a matter of discovering the town and what is available and where. Hope your Spanish is good for this type of exploration.

Restaurants are not too keen on the vegetarian life style so be prepared to inform the staff of your desires. They may think it strange but will bend over back ward's to accommodate.

Learn the important Spanish words and you'll do fine

Answer 6

What city you'll be in really plays an important role here.  Where I live the is a Wal-Mart, Soriana, and a Ley, all are pretty similar.  I prefer to buy my food there because its what is normal for me.  As for the vegetable thing goes cooking for yourself shouldn't be a problem at all.  But I will warn you (Im not a vegetarian but I will only eat hamburgers, steak, and bacon) people here are hard core meat eaters and most restaurants don't have anything on the menu for vegetarians.  I hope you like beans and rice, because that's what I'm stuck eating at most places.  I am a fast-food junkie and thankfully we have a Burger King, KFC, and a Pizza Hut where I am living.  If it weren't for those places I would have probably died of hunger a long time ago!!  Good luck!!!

Answer 7

If you are talking about Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara which are large cities, you will have no problem - Besides markets, you will find stores which cater to foreign staples -