Curitiba – Brazil’s Stockholm

The most recommended part of Brazil by Brazilians is the Northeast coast, which I’m missing. The second is Rio de Janeiro, a city that Brazilians love because of the international presence and nice comradeship among

The most recommended part of Brazil by Brazilians is the Northeast coast, which I’m missing. The second is Rio de Janeiro, a city that Brazilians love because of the international presence and nice comradeship among strangers (so yes, I was part of the Rio allure!). The third most common recommendation is Curitiba. Why’s that? Well, they say, it is … white. Not just white as in the people being white, but in a more general sense most common in “white countries”, for whatever historical reasons. Clean, geeky etc, with loads of shops where you can get all skatehopsomething.

If Brazil was Europe, then getting to Oiapoque after the river was like crawling up on a Greek island packed with refugees from Syria. In all its wonderful tumult, Belem was like the lovely Naples of Italy. The Northeast is like Spain, while Brasilia is like if they took Brussels out of its very well-functioning city, and put it in a new city in the Austrian mountains designed by France’s most fascist architect. Rio de Janeiro is like Paris – the place you need to visit once, and São Paolo is like Berlin – the place you need to live forever. Curitiba then, is like Stockholm. The place that exists for bureaucrats to annoy you with rules created by Social democrats who don’t live anymore, and who didn’t see how society really works.

Well, the latter part was completely made up. I have no idea about the political structure of this place. But what do you see in the image above? Nuts! This country is bathing in nuts. Why do they eat meat, when they live inside the world’s nut factory? With fruits drowning you in stores? It’s a mystery, that many Curitibans wonder about. Those who go to Verão Natural, that is! On Rua João Negrão 140.

The most perfect vegetarian restaurant I’ve seen in my life. Six euros for a meal and you can eat until you get super-fat. I asked. I showed with my hands the size of my stomach, and they said “yes, yes again, please go eat”. They also know English you see. Like in Sweden!

I’m not much of a food photographer, I agree. But I have spent endless of time on nutrition tables, trying to perfect my eating. And do you want to know what I’ve realized? Congratulations, you will! You need to eat three things:

  1. Beans, beans and beans. Soy is the best, but they are all good and price-worthy, and good to mix with each other. I’ll also mention eggs here, which is the only part of the animal kingdom that fits (plus cow intestines). So eating intestines like in Mongolia is good, but the rest of the world should eat beans, and if you life in a civilized country with cheap tofu, then cheap tofu is great (too expensive in Sweden and Brazil though). And if you live in a nut-country such as Brazil, eat nuts all the time.
  2. Spinach, green peas, broccoli and cauliflower, and in general all green leafy vegetables that are NOT just iceberg lettuce.
  3. Carbohydrates that complete the protein. The best are WHOLE GRAINS such as wheat, rye, barley and oats. Mixing is great, but oats the best, especially if you’re glutenish <3. But rice and potatoes fit if you have no wholemeal seeds around.

The surprises:

  1. Fruits don’t give you much for the money (unless it’s free of course).
  2. Root vegetables such as potato and carrots don’t give much either (and it’s free in Sweden). Carrot is great in places close to starvation, but if you eat 1, 2, 3 above, you get enough of vitamin A.
  3. The only animal parts that fit the bill is eggs and cow intestines. Chicken is cheap protein if you don’t have time to soak your own beans, but please start soaking beans and you get everything. (And the cheaper the chicken is, the worse lives they have!)
  4. Common vegetables are worthless! Lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes give you very little nutrition. So always grab broccoli and cauliflower. And spinach you eat all the time. Nom nom.
  5. Sugar and 99% of bread are just trash. Eat for the taste, but it’s not food!

So now, you might understand the very sad feeling Brazil gives me, that in any cheap breakfast place, they have bad bread with meat inside 🙁 I’m not avoiding it out of ethical reasons, it’s basically just food that destroys you. I’m leaving this country, but maybe a Brazilian can somehow wake them all up. Rice and beans would have been so much better <3

(NOTE: the above is the result of optimizing food intake with regards to money, using dietary requirements for average people. But most people aren’t average. If you have an autoimmune disease etc, then you need very different recommendations!)

A soup that I had no idea what it contained, but I ate a whole bowl and it was delicious! They had no coffee though. I’ve realized that nutritious Brazilians avoid coffee. But coffee (without sugar) is great! Things can be good although it’s addictive. Such as having company.

Christmas is the very hottest part of the year here. Now it’s great <3
Using a library can be the most romantic thing that you have ever done.
I got to stay with Larissa’s friends Chrystal and Gabi on the 16th floor.

We went out to where all the students hung out, drinking cheap beer on the street. Not that any of us was a student, but it’s hard to change old habits! I know all about that. And the most flagrant character was an ex-student who was in love with the Celtic culture of Ireland, spoke the language etc. I hope he ever gets on the boat to the western part of that country, find some village on the west of the island, marry a red-head and get children.

Here’s me eating fried pastel (sort of like pancakes) with Larissa. Nom nom!

Larissa would like to change lives with me. I’ve always wanted to become a veterinary in Curitiba so we held thumbs and drummed the roll. Nothing worked though :/ There is no magic. I have to keep travelling!

We went to a more sober place, for young adults. See the food slide that slide down!
Burger, fries, beer and football: six euros
Untz untz untz

2 thoughts on “Curitiba – Brazil’s Stockholm

  1. If we got some insect for food production going that might give some food a run for its money.

    1. Yes 🙂 I’ll eat a cockroach as soon as I see it served anywhere! Once I start travelling again …

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