In November my parents visited us and my mom wanted to make a cameo on the blog! This is her last one. Her blog post is below:

Where are the Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips? The local grocery stores in Belgium are smaller than grocery stores in the U.S. and so are the carts. There are fewer products and way fewer brands of each product they carry.

One of us recently had a craving for potato chips. The above picture is actually very deceiving, the entire snack aisle was about 20′ long and one sided. Woodman’s snack aisle is mind-boggling by comparison. In Belgium the big sellers seem to be plain, pickle and paprika flavored chips. The bags are around 185 kg (6.5 ounces). There isn’t really a “family size” bag. Prices range from 1,49 euro ($1.50) to 2,99 euro ($3.09). Also, they devote way too much precious shelf space to Bugles. Bugles? When is the last time you ate a Bugle?

Don’t be deceived into thinking these Belgians are completely healthy eaters though. Frites (french fry) vendors are everywhere. The fries are thicker than we like and they prefer to dip them in mayonnaise not ketchup. Also, Belgians eat waffles with whip cream, chocolate and other toppings as a snack not as a breakfast food. There are a lot of street vendors and people stand around and eat them.

Finally, Belgians like their beer. Wisconsinites and Belgians have a lot in common when it comes to beer consumption. (See Joelle’s earlier November blog post about beer for more info.)

My parents visited us about a month ago and my mom wanted to make a cameo on the blog! Her blog post is below:

Grocery shopping can be stressful or fun when traveling outside of the U.S. depending upon your attitude.

Struggling with language (easier now, thank you Google Translate), the metric system, and currency requires a sense of humor and a little extra time.

I love the bread in Europe and am pleased to announce that I have not found “Wonder Bread” in any European country. Most bread in not prepackaged, and is crusty, not soft. At 1,45 euro it’s roughly $1.50, making it way less expensive than this same style of bread back home. Plus, it’s fabulous! There is no shame in eating good bread in Europe, in fact I think it’s expected.

We noticed two vending machines near a main street in Brevin and Joelle’s home town. One had Coca Cola, Lipton Ice Tea, water and a few snack bags of chips. The other had loaves of bread (called a Brod Box)!

My parents visited us a few weeks ago and my mom wanted to make a cameo on the blog! Her blog post is below:

I’ve noticed that Jo and Brev rarely drink cow’s milk. What was once a staple of our diet has faded away, even for Larry and I. (Although homemade chocolate chip cookies cannot be consumed at home without an ice cold glass).

I insisted on buying cow’s milk in Belgium, because I wanted to make mashed potatoes for our early Thanksgiving meal.

I was immediately struck by the fact that the cow’s milk, like almond and other varieties at home, is not refrigerated in the stores. (Neither are eggs)! A liter (33.814 fluid ounces) costs 1,79 euro. A discussion ensued over the number of liters in a gallon (3.79) and the price of milk in the U.S. (Who knows?).

The Halfvol Melk – Lait pictured below is “milk which has part of the cream removed, semi-skimmed milk.”  

I remain skeptical but will welcome an easy scapegoat if my mashed potatoes are less than delicious. 

P.S. I was sad to see Weight Watchers cheese in the refrigerator aisle!