Natural Food. What’s that?

If you ask an American to describe “Natural Food” you’ll here a list of supermarket and grocery store chains that claim to sell off the shelf natural products….. I’m sorry… I can barely keep a straight face while saying that. Fresh and Natural products in the US are about as common tax savings. Natural foods are something still found in Bucharest, sometimes at hypermarkets if you know where to look, but most often at the extremely affordable outdoor and semi-enclosed markets scattered around town.

So what exactly do I mean by “Natural” food? Well, if you travel about 20 kilometers outside of the city center to any of the surrounding villages (perfect example would be Domnesti, 12km from the Mariott’s front door) many, many of the families and home out there have vast gardens in the yards, where they grow peppers, cabbage, corn, tomatoes, herbs, spices, apples, grapes, potatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, and the list goes on. These food items flourish in outside of Bucharest because we do sit on very unpolluted and fertile soil. This alone is more than can be said for virtually anywhere remaining in the US.

Everyday, these items are loaded up into trucks and brought into town to be sold via table top at any of the local food markets. From fresh cheeses to “just laid” eggs, you’ll find it if you look around Bucharest. And the best part? It’s a fraction of the cost of pre-packaged products at the stores!

Fresh Food Market

Click The Link Below To View an Interactive Map Of The Natural Markets Around Bucharest:

http://www.bucuresteni.ro/harta/piete_agroalimentare/

There’s an EXCELLENT market just on the left past Molly’s Irish pub in an old converted exposed rafter train station. It’s just after the Pharmacy on the left on Calea Calarasilor.

Here’s a personal story:

When I first came to Bucharest a few years back, I weighed about 240 lbs (109 kilos). I have never been one for hardcore exercising, and I never really pushed myself to even do basics. I now weigh around 195 lbs (88 kilos) and I can attribute it almost 100% to diet. Quite a bit has been from cutting out soft drinks and junk food almost entirely, but the main reason is home cooked dinners virtually every night consisting of entirely natural foods, both meat, vegetables and fruits/cheeses. Below is a photo that shows the difference between a “yellow” nutrient poor yolk of a chicken egg vs. an “orange” yolk of a nutrient rich, healthy local chicken.

Natural Egg

It is completely amazing to see and feel the change in your body that will occur from eating higher quality, non-chemical based foods.

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http://www.canadafreecalls.com apaminerala

Wonderful thing that you’re rediscovering the basics every Romanian living abroad knows…
http://www.globalmoneyfund.com BuchExp

does anybody know if there is truth to the EU severely regulating private gardens? Just a rumor I’ve heard…
Roseta

I wish I could disagree with the comment about the US version of ‘natural’ food, but so much of that is true, in my opinion. We over produce our food using pollutants we think make it better. I’m not sure Americans really know the definition of natural or what it means to eat natural food products.
shoola

It makes me so happy to see this article. I have been growing my own food for a few years now and it’s much tastier and healthier. I am so glad that home produce is now so easily found in the local markets.
Lorna

Roseta you are right we definitely overproduce for the almighty dollar rather than have safe, natural, better tasting foods. I am so glad the rest of the world still has natural produce and appreciates it!
dave

I am a little concerned about the comment referring to the EU regulating private gardens. I cannot find any information to say whether it is true or not but this, in my opinion, would be a catastrophe if it were to happen.
Kelsey

I am very glad to learn about the easy availability of farm fresh produce and eggs in Bucharest. That picture of the two different eggs…wow I had no idea the substandard quality of the eggs I have been eating!
suzannecarlyle

I’ve seen this somewhere as well… wondering if it places regulations on what they would deem to be crossing over the line from private to commercial farming?
P.Brown

Well I always thought that the darker yolks were the worst! It shows how much I know. I thought they put artificial colour in it. Thanks for educating me!
kikiD

No one has mentioned the most obvious and best advantage of growing natural food in unpolluted soil and that is the taste! Don’t you agree that it tastes so much better than food used to taste back home?
Rachel

I know I for one cannot wait to experience all the fresh produce that Bucharest has to offer again. Even the stuff that claims to be organic in the US just does not have that clean fresh taste. Must be a difference in the soil or something.
Allie

EU regulations are so complex it would be difficult to find something as specific as this without professional help, unless it becomes of media interest, then you’d see it splashed all over the newspapers.
Brandon

I have to say I love the markets here and I have never eaten so well in my life as I have in Bucharest. Certainly better than I was back in the States!