grosser food

By the time I got married, I had traveled to over twenty five different countries; half of those trips being third world type of experiences.
Ah, the years of being an adventurous world traveler with story after story to share are over. Since I’ve been married, I have been out of the country only once –  to pick up my sweet new nephew in Ecuador. (Kids sure do change those world travel expectations, but they’re so worth it. aren’t they? :))
Amidst those years of traveling, one thing was so important to understand and respect. When you are offered something special to eat by a host, it is like a slap in the face if you refuse to eat it. Americans do not understand that concept since we dispose of as much food as we consume, but in many countries, it’s the epitome of disrespect to turn down food. So, I learned to swallow, and hide my gagging…a lot. I have eaten things assumed to be a “delicacy” that were revolting to this fairly simple palette. Tongue, innards, small animals that will remained unnamed as well as the hygiene of certain areas were all in question. One trip, I lived with a precious, yet poor family for one month.  I can vividly remember insects crawling out of my rice, and yet, the family was all smiling at me so sweetly hoping that I would love my bite. This was a sacrifice for them, so I did it. I swallowed it with a heart of gratitude, praying the whole time that this was all about a little extra protein.
Now that I am older, I can’t believe some of the things I did and tried, and yet, I sure hope I would rise to the challenge again if the opportunity arose.  I am definitely not the gamer anymore that I was for that decade of my life. My days of thinking that being a contestant on the original Survivor would be a blast are over!

gross food

Since we are all lovers of food here at Tasty Tuesday, I thought it would be fun to hear what the oddest, grossest, weirdest, or even the most interesting food you have ever eaten would be?
Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be really weird…could just be interesting.

I need some good chuckles or maybe even a few “eews.” ( I just won’t read this at meal time.)

If your palette hasn’t lived on the wild side yet, no worries, I have had my share for you.
iguanas eating
And I thought Americans attacked their food…:) (Iguanas in Ecuador)
Yes, I know this was an odd topic for Tasty Tuesday, but I just need to keep you all on your toes. I can’t wait to see all the great recipes you’re sharing this week. (If you are reading this by email, you need to click on the title link to bring you to my blog. If you’re not doing this, you’re missing out on hundreds of recipes every week.)

Simple Rules for Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods – If you’re joining in with a recipe link, two simple requests. As always,  Please link directly to your recipe post and not your blog URL, so that everyone can find the recipe months from now.
Also, link back here so that everyone can join in the fun. MANY OF YOU ARE NOT linking back, and it’s just common courtesy of blog carnivals.
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